ALDS Game 2: If the Angels don’t win…
ByThe other night I decided upon the catch-22 of playoff baseball: I dislike the Red Sox. So I can’t root for them. As the night wore on, I couldn’t decide, however, which team I disliked more: Do I dislike the Angels because they can’t beat the Red Sox more than I dislike the Red Sox? In the end, probably not, but it sure would be nice for the Angels to win a game.
The last time the Angels defeated the Red Sox in the postseason was on October 11, 1986 when they took a 3-1 Championship Series lead. They’ve now lost a whopping 10 in a row in October to the Red Sox.
Red Sox Lineup
Ellsbury CF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Youkilis 3B
Drew RF
Bay LF
Kotsay 1B
Varitek C
Cora SS
Matsuzaka P
Angels Lineup
Figgins 3B
Anderson LF
Teixeira 1B
Guerrero DH
Hunter CF
Rivera RF
Kendrick 2B
Mathis C
Aybar P
Santana P – It’s interesting to see the Angels turn to Santana at home. He was 5-5 with a 4.02 ERA in Anaheim and 11-2 with a 3.02 ERA on the road
First pitch is set for 9:37 p.m.
“Alex Cora wins games.”
- Steve Phillips
I really hope that Dice-K gets lit up. Proving to people he’s a fraud and he was basically lucky this season. That probably won’t happen considering the Angels law is not let one pitch go by them.
Pitchers who win 18 games with a 2.90 ERA, and lead the league in OBA certainly have some luck, but it can’t all be luck.
I think to call him a fraud is a bit excessive
Yo lets go Ervin Santana.
Santana was the one who shut us down in ‘05 after Colon had to take an early exit, right?
I’m having flashbacks.
Yea he did.
Yea Ervin, make Pedroia your bitch.
He did.
Geez Youkilis is fucking ugly, you can see his sweat running away from his face.
Dear Angels,
F*k you, you good for nothing collection of assclowns.
Love,
UWS
Like I was saying….
Really?
you’ve got to be fucking kidding me
Manny?
WE DONT NEED NO STINKIN MANNY!!
Sox just own these tools. Good, I need to get some sleep.
Let me know how Brackman does, peeps.
You know Ervin, your a fuckin bitch. Your a better pitcher now than when the yanks face ya 3 years ago, and you shut them down. Now you gonna shit ya pants in the fuckin first inning against the sox.
odds angels go 1-2-3 in their half of the inning?
100:1.
checks in the mail
Finally!!!
A Angel hitter takes three pitches in a row.
Vlad Guerrero hit a homer.
Torii hit a single.
Woot!
I know that Hunter got a RBI on that but that was a ball in the dirt.
Nice Job Rivera, swinging at the first pitch. It’s not like ya team is down 3 runs against a guy who will walk the ballpark.
Give it up, dude. I mean, Halos already have. Let’s just hope Rays make it to the next round, they are the only hope of stopping the Sox. Grr.
I thought Angels were supposed to be good fundamentally. That’s now two outs in a row that they failed to get. Just ugly.
“I thought Angels were supposed to be good fundamentally”
you believe that? A team that hardley walks, take bad a-bats and make silly out on the basepaths. This is who they are.
But-but-but! That’s what ESPN tells me, so it must be true. Are you saying…I shouldn’t trust everything I see or read in the media?! It feels like my world is crumbling down around me…
didnt they have the lowest runs scored:allowed ratio? or they outplayed their pythag the most
They did, by 12 games or so, I believe.
HAHAHAHA YESSSSSSS
The word “underrated” is tossed around too much (but Garret Anderson is the most underrated player in MLB for at least the last decade). Would have been great if he had been wearing pinstripes & batting 5th for the Yanks all that time.
wtF?
So all that stands in the way of another stinkin’ Sawx championship is ….
TAMPA?!!!
Tampa will beat Boston, if the Angels dont.
Come on Angels, get some runs.
giambi would have waved bye bye as that ball sped by him
Whatever happened to Gustavo Chacin? As random as that may sound there is a perfectly logical line of reasoning behind it.
then tell us
Well, Tim at MLBtraderumors did there annual team outlook and I it occured to me that I hadn’t heard this guy’s name in awhile. Plus, he looks really evil so you know how that goes. So are you going to answer my question or not?
their
To things happened to Chacin:
1. He sucks
2. He had major, major arm surgery, like torn labrum and torn rotator cuff kind of major
To things can’t happen, but two things can happen. Zing! Really, I though he was good, well I’ll take your word for it. What’s up with the laburms, now Paredes as well. So much for our third basemen. Mike, was Parades better than Suttle? Atleast they can now battle for who comes back from the torn labrum first.
So the Dodgers get Manny, he hits two DS home runs. Ugly Boston gets Bay, he hits two even more impactful home runs. Did the Pirates get shafted? I don’t know anything about Andy LaRoche, but Craig Hansen didn’t look good, and the other two I don’t know anything about.
But it puzzles me
O Yes, O God Yes
that was a filthy pitch
Hitters should realize Matsuzaka almost always throws a 3-1, 2-0, 3-2 slider or cutter. He rarely throws a FB when in a hitter’s count.
Morales?? If you’re going to put Napoli in next inning anyway, why not just let him bat?
Sciosia is trying to outsmart himself?
I don’t think Scott Boras can be anymore visible in this series.
Jason Varitek is so great, he doesn’t even need a pitcher out on the mound. Varitek makes balls materialize and fly through the air all by himself, with his brainpower alone. True story.
For TBS, I’m Buck Martinez.
/tommiesmithjohncarlos
Jason Varitek is so gritty, that he coaxed no-hitters out of four young, Vietnamese immigrants before paying for their citizenship test. Heart of a champion.
For Fox, I’m Tim McCarver.
/tsjc
this has to be some of the stupidest shit i have ever heard an announcer say
You know its going bad when Varitek gets a base hit on a check swing.
Lol Boras is on the phone with Arod saying man if you listened to me and signed with the Angels you could be playing right now instead of sitting home on the couch eating cheetos watching this game… Arods like damn Scotty boy you were right
Yep, that’s exactly what’s happening.
Arrerondo is nice man
god fucking damn it
Damn.
Man, the Angels are such bitches.
Tex-mazing
My prediction for this inning:
Single, single, walk, infield pop-up, GIDP.
Positivity…with a capital P
Hmm. Torii throwing a wrench into my plan by swinging at the first…fucking…pitch. Argh.
And there’s the walk!
Alright baby, time to prove the best record in the regular season wasn’t a fluke.
Mike, where’s that list of GM candidates you promised us? Of who you thought should replace Cash if he had decided to leave?
The top two choices were Tony Lacava (Jays’ assistant GM) and Logan White (Dodgers’ assistant GM). I was debating between those two, and I would have chosen one to be the official GM candidate of RAB. I probably would have gone White, because he’s got the same qualifications as LaCava, but he’s done the big market thing.
The other candidates I considered were (in nor particular order):
Jason McLeod (BoSox’s scouting director)
Dan Jennings (Marlins’ assistant GM)
Peter Woodfork (D-Backs’ assistant GM)
Mike Rizzo (Nats’ assistant GM)
And off course Oppenheimer as well.
Interesting, thanks!
Good thing you guys never had to publish it, eh?
Yeah seriously. Cash was absolutely the guy I wanted in charge.
First pitch Torii? Really?
Just missed that pitch.
At least scratch out one more
Friggin’ Rivera trying to kill our future first baseman. Punk.
OH THE WEBBINGGG!G!G!G!
Time for the choke collar to come off Howie
So Ugly
Make the pitcher throw strikes, people!!!
No shock there.
Jesus Christ, Howie.
Wait, Varitek can’t leadership pitchers into throwing strikes? I’m shocked. SHOCKED, I tell you!
Take’em how ever you can get’em.
Beautiful walk
This is one of the more painful games I’ve ever watched
Can you imagine if the yanks had a-bats like this. I would of had a heart attack already.
Tell me about it. This game is not doing wonders for my blood pressure and I don’t really even have a horse in this race!
They did, quite a few times this season
Yeah, but I think he means if it was the Yanks in the postseason having ABs like that.
Geez.
So it has been written, so it has been said: the Angel do suck. Verily.
Howie Kendrick has had some of the worst a-bats I,ve seen in quite some time. My Goodness was that last a-bat. He makes Cano look like Giambi.
MARK WATCH OUT FOR THAT BAT!!!!!!
Why does Martize keep calling Ortiz ORtiz?
*Martinez
here comes the future Met
Mr. overrated #57 is on the mound.
Nice play. Aybar’s been all over the place tonight
Don’t get mad Pedroia, toughen up bitch.
Take it easy, Frankie. It’s not like you just struck out Barry Bonds to end the WS or something.
Exactly. K-Rod and Papelbitch are always far more demonstrative on the mound than Joba and he got so much shit. Always pissed me off
That’s because joba was throwing a party in the 7th inning, closing nothing. Doing complete pirouettes while letting out primal screams.
Honestly, Angel/Yankee/Boston fans should all shut up about pitchers celebrating. They all do it.
AMEN!!
RUN FIGGINS RUN!!!!!!!
Well its about bloody time!
Finally, Figgins shows up to get the first extra base hit for the Angels.
JD Drew did his best Abreu impression at the wall
they have to get this run in
Here comes Papelbon?
or Timlin?
if this were the yankees, on 3rd chone would stay
No kidding.
All I ask is for a groundball to the right side. That’s not too much to ask with Anderson-Tex-Vlad-Torii due up, is it?
i beleive tex prefers the fundamentally sound homerun to right
He still might.
Okay bring Papelbon really makes little sense here in a situation like this.
I hope Tex drops a bomb on Paps ass
this makes me so happy theyre bringing paps in
Does Papelbon have any 2 inning saves this year?
btw, i don’t know who mentioned it the other day but…….
I actually had a red sox fan tell me that Veriblow was a HOF…. i laughed right in his face and said can i please have whatever it is you are on.
I had someone tell me Ortiz was a HOFer, and that was like, 3 years ago.
the best was his reason that he caught 4 no hitters.
I couldn’t believe it. I know most sox fans aren’t that bright but comeon
Great, great, great fucking job Angerson.
hes the most underrated player in the history of baseball
Every time an Angel swings at the first pitch, he should be tasered on the spot.
Would it be smart to IBB Tex to get to Guerrero?
I probably would have. But then you’re running the risk of a Vladdy 3-R homer, which is more likely than a GIDP.
YEAAHHHHHH
Of course Tex gets it done. Love him
Tex is the only Angel that decided to show up this series. Give that man a contract.
Why you think I compare him to Beltran.
Some might say he’s only trying hard because he wants a big payday.
Not me, but some might.
Fundamentally sound Tex, fundamentally sound
I knew Tex would do the job. I trust him, after all he’s the only person in that lineup with some plate disipline.
Will Cardiac K-Rod hold ‘em down for an inning? Stay tuned…
Good name for him, instantly applicable
I’m partial to Heart Attack City, myself.
Looks like this is going to go on for a while.
so how many knotts will K-Rod give Halos fans stomachs tonight ?
holy shit i thought that was gonzo
I thought that was gone yo.
Hit Willits in a bad spot, right in the mitt.
weather its a lucky stat or not youkilis hitting 378 or whatever w/risp is pretty incredible
of course
WTF??????
clearly out
Holly shit he was so out
Man, he was out.
Heh, Aybar had a little conniption there.
He should have a conniption fit there. I would too if I missed the tag on his front foot and even allowed the umpire to have a shot at blowing the call. Slow motion replay didn’t even let us see difinitively if his front foot reached the bag before the tag came on his back foot. I wouldn’t bet a quarter on whether that call was right or wrong. Some of you guys must have some incredible vision…
Out.
it’s ok Drew sucks he’ll blow it
orrrr not
my bad yo
k-rod’s got some marlon brando godfather type cheeks
Fail-Rod
Yup, K-Rod will fit right in on the Mets.
Damn Mike, you just had to jinx them.
Overrated.
woops
Figures. K-Rod sucks so bad, it’s not even funny.
I need to see some Mo, I forgot what a real closer looks like.
88 mph? Was that the fastball?
I think it was a changeup that didn’t change. Those are called “meatballs.”
Which sucker is gonna pay K-Rod 60+ Million.
Minaya. Fo sho.
Tigers…….nevermind, the Mets will.
He’ll either be a Met or a Tiger. It’d be a smooth transition from Todd Jones to K-Rod.
Seriously, his FB velocity is not the same and has gone down for a while. All he throws is breaking balls and his control is average on a good day.
He’s 26 and lose velo on his heat.
At 26, Mo was throwing 98MPH and at 38 Mo throws harder than K-Rod.
just makes you realize even more that we got to watch one of the greatest pitchers of all time
You know whats funny, K-Rod might be the highest paid closer in baseball and is only the 5th best closer in the AL and 6th best in the majors if you include Lidge.
Kerry Wood is better too. Hell, you can argue that Marmol is a better closer too.
when they cut to the stunned close-up of scioscia (or however it’s spelled) i had an epiphany: i hate the angels more than i hate the red sox
Seriously. I think I might hate K-Rod more than I hate most of the Red Sox. So while it’s disappointing that Boston will win, anything that takes K-Rod down a peg can’t be that bad.
Really??????????????????????
A bunt attempt????????????
Seriously. That might have been the dumbest play I’ve seen by anyone ever.
Not like he had a LEG PROBLEM or anything.
Well this series is probably over.
i’m coming late to this thread, did anyone else notice scott boros looming over variteks shoulder all game?
Yeah, he’s got season tix.
wtf kind of seat is that its like a special dugout
Well he does represent about ten guys on each team here.
This team was soft 100 win team anyway. Overrated. And the thing about is, this was their best chance to win.
Its pretty sad when a failed $50 million player is having a better AB than a failed $90 million player
okay, never mind. i hate the red sox more
yankee stadium he would have had a facefull of fist, granted it was a row of camerapeople but nonetheless
Could a non-life-threatening accident happen to Chip Caray that deprives him of all ability to speak?
Seriously? No fan could get in the way there? Sissy SoCalers.
Here’s another guy ticking me off, Howie Kendrick.
Kendrick actually took a pitch.
Oh good, Howie Kendrick represents out number 27.
Veritably A-Rodian.
He’ll probably strike out anyway.
howie cant-rick
Seriously though, the only teams that could of beaten the Sox in a 7 game series are the three teams in the AL East, TB, NY, and Tor and two of them are not in the playoffs obviously.
No kidding. The Jays would have put up more of a fight.
Papelbon’s such a bitch.
who’s more annoying? papelbon or k-rod?
papelbon beyond a shred of a doubt
yes papelbon that IS what you are talking about
No surprise Kendrick swings at a pitch at his head and K’s and ends the game. His A-bats have been atrocious.
Who’s had worse at bats this playoffs?
Kendrick, Soriano, or Fukodome
Oof, that’s tough.
I’m partial to Soriano because watching him now reminds me of his classic strike out everytime at-bat parade in the 2003 playoffs. Good memories.
E.T.’s celebration is bush league. Seriously, its not that serious. Act like you’ve been there before at least one time.
i am going to go throwup now
Yo these playoff games suck.
are all the series’ 2-0 now?
Yea.
How do the Angels roll over and die everytime they play Boston?
It is embarrassing.
We are staring at 3 titles in 5 years for them. Makes me sick.
They still have a long ways to go before you can say 3-in-5.
You really see the Rays beating them?
Phillies and Dodgers??
all three actually
I see the Phils and Dodgers as NL patsies ala 2004-2007.
The Rays starters don’t go more than 5 innings. That team scares you?
Their two biggest challenges are about to bow out in lame fashion.
They’re not perfect. The Angels just make them look that way.
Maybe I have bad memories of the past 3 years but I really think a 5 game series is terrible.
If you lose Game 1, especially at home, you are pretty much F’d.
I don’t see why they haven’t gone to 7 games. They have all the days off to do it and since when does MLB turn down extra revenue?
i just wish both chicago teams could be swept at home on the same day
OJ just went down. Karma for committing two murders.
im kind of hoping the jury leans more towards life as opposed to the 15 years
Brackman four scoreless innings 2 H, 1BB, 4 SO.
excellent news
How are you getting the updates?
mlb.com then click the stats tab and go to winter leagues
Great. Thanks.
Brackman 5.0 3 0 0 1 5 0
That’s more like it.